At such places it is quite usual to see young
men and women devoutly circumambulating the well or lake on their bare
knees, with all the marks of penitence and contrition strongly
impressed upon their faces; whilst again, after an hour or two, the same
individuals may be found in a tent dancing with ecstatic vehemence to
the music of the bagpipe or fiddle.

All these things, however, will be found, I trust I may say faithfully
depicted in the following volume--together with many other important
features of our general character; which I would dwell on here, were it
not that they are detailed very fully in other parts of my works, and I
do not wish to deprive them of the force of novelty when they occur, nor
to appear heavy by repetition.

In conclusion, I have endeavored, with what success has been already
determined by the voice of my own country, to give a panorama of Irish
life among the people--comprising at one view all the strong points of
their general character--their loves, sorrows, superstitions, piety,
amusements, crimes, and virtues; and in doing this, I can say with
solemn truth that I painted them honestly, and without reference to the
existence of any particular creed or party.

W. Carleton.

Dublin.

NED M'KEOWN.

Ned M'Keown's house stood exactly in an angle, formed by the cross-roads
of Kilrudden. It was a long, whitewashed building, well thatched and
furnished with the usual appurtenances of yard and offices. Like most
Irish houses of the better sort, it had two doors, one opening into a
garden that sloped down from the rear in a southern direction. The barn
was a continuation of the dwelling-house, and might be distinguished
from it by a darker shade of color, being only rough-cast. It was
situated on a small eminence, but, with respect to the general locality
of the country, in a delightful vale, which runs up, for twelve or
fourteen miles, between two ranges of dark, well-defined mountains, that
give to the interjacent country the form of a low inverted arch.
This valley, which altogether, allowing for the occasional breaks and
intersections of hill-ranges, extends upwards of thirty miles in length,
is the celebrated valley of the "Black Pig," so well known in the
politico-traditional history of Ireland, and the legends connected with
the famous Beal Dearg.*

* The following extract, taken from a sketch by the author
called "The Irish Prophecy-man," contains a very appropri